Mercenaries (With Fire & Sword)

Black Reiter

Mercenaries are much more numerous and important in With Fire & Sword than Warband.

It is historically accurate, as most battles of the 17th century were fought by mercenary armies, as opposed to feudal levies of medieval times depicted in Warband.

These early modern soldiers can be divided in four groups:

1. Tavern Mercenaries (as in Warband).
2. Mercenary Camp soldiers: customized by the Player.
3. National Mercenaries: specific for every Nation.
4. Regional Mercenaries: specific for certain Towns and Fortresses.

Tavern Mercenaries

Mercenary Halberdier

These troops are equivalent to classic Mercenaries hired in Tavern. In general, they have lesser levels and armor than their Warband counterparts, but are less expensive (due to lower level) and more abundant as while Calradia has only 22 Taverns, Eastern Europe has 58 (18 in Towns and 40 in Fortresses).

Their crucial advantage is that they are stronger than basic Mercenary Camp soldiers, and immediately available (while both National and Regional Mercenaries require few days to train).

With Fire & Sword Tavern Mercenaries
Mercenary Halberdier • Mercenary Pikeman
Mercenary Light Cavalryman • Mercenary Horseman
Mercenary Musketeer • Mercenary Marksman

Mercenary Camp

Polish Mercenary Rifleman

Main article: Mercenary Camp

Initially weak, but cheap, immediately available and in unlimited numbers as long as coin is ready.

Mercenary Troops

Crimean Khanate	Tatar Mercenary Infantryman Tatar Mercenary Rifleman Tatar Mercenary Cavalryman
Polish Commonwealth	Polish Mercenary Infantryman Polish Mercenary Rifleman Polish Mercenary Cavalryman
Cossack Hetmanate	Cossack Mercenary Infantryman Cossack Mercenary Rifleman Cossack Mercenary Cavalryman
Muscovite Tsardom	Muscovite Mercenary Infantryman Muscovite Mercenary Rifleman Muscovite Mercenary Cavalryman
Kingdom of Sweden	European Mercenary Infantryman European Mercenary Rifleman European Mercenary Cavalryman

National Mercenaries

Scottish Swordsman

These mercenaries are foreigners who serve a certain nation on a regular basis. They usually come from allied (Tatars vs. Cossacks), vassal (Kalmyks vs. Moscow) or overlord countries (Ottomans vs. Tatars).

They can be hired in each and every Town and Fortress of a certain nation as soon as a Mercenary Captain is appointed.

They are nation-specific:

• Scottish Mercenaries serve both Polish Commonwealth and Kingdom of Sweden
• Turkish Mercenaries serve Crimean Khanate
• Tatar Mercenaries serve Cossack Hetmanate (but only when at peace with Crimean Khanate!)
• Kalmyk Mercenaries serve Muscovite Tsardom. Strangely enough, German Infantry Pikeman and German Infantry Musketeer, while being native troops of Polish Commonwealth, serve Muscovite Tsardom as Regular Mercenaries.

These mercenaries have a delay period between order from Mercenary Commander and delivery of soldiers: their training takes a few days.

List of Mercenaries	Nation
Scottish Mercenaries Scottish Pikeman Scottish Musketeer Scottish Swordsman	Polish Commonwealth Kingdom of Sweden
Turkish Mercenaries Azap Cebelu Janissary	Crimean Khanate
Tatar Mercenaries Tatar Infantryman Tatar Cavalryman	Cossack Hetmanate (at peace with Crimea only)
Kalmyk Mercenaries Kalmyk	Muscovite Tsardom
German Infantry German Infantry Pikeman German Infantry Musketeer	Muscovite Tsardom

Regional Mercenaries

Lithuanian Musketeer

These troops can be hired only in certain Towns and Fortresses, regionally specific, after an Infantry Commander (even for cavalry units!) is appointed. They have a training period as well.

List of Mercenaries	Region
German Mercenaries German Pikeman Black Reiter Rondartschier	Narva Allenstein Castle
Lithuanian Mercenaries Lithuanian Musketeer Lithuanian Tatar	Warsaw Polotsk Kovno Fortress
Tatar Mercenaries Nogai	Kezlev Fortress Izum Fortress
Circassian Mercenaries Circassian	Azaq-kale Kilburun Fortress
Ukraine Cossacks Town Cossack Rank Cossack	Lviv Krakov Minsk Slutsk
Don Cossacks Village Cossack	Cherkassk Izum Fortress
Finnish Mercenaries Finnish Harquebusier	Riga Koenigsberg

Trivia

• For much of its history, the Crimean Khanate was a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, and often received Ottoman soldiers as military aid.
• The Cossack Hetmanate victory over the Polish Commonwealth in 1648, and its subsequent independence, happened in large part because of an alliance with the Crimean Khanate. It was a short-lived and intermittent relationship, however.
• Scottish infantry (as well as Swiss) were internationally popular mercenaries in Europe through the 15th to 18th centuries. Some Scots even settled in Lithuania and Baltic states.
• Kalmyks (or Oirats) are a West Mongolian tribe that settled in the lower Volga region in 1630. They were obliged to protect the Muscovite border in the south from other nomads.